


The Naked Dementors

by Hobo_Pope



Series: The Naked Dementors [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Other, Patronus/Patronus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-05 13:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobo_Pope/pseuds/Hobo_Pope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Voldemort's death, the Order of the Phoenix are trying to round up the remnants of his dark forces. While confronting some bizarrely transformed dementors, Snape and Harry must deal with their relationship when something even more bizarre happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva is interrupted in her reflections on the work of the Order by Snape, who brings news of a new threat that to peace and stability.

Voldemort was dead, but the war wasn't over. Minerva McGonagall's head rested in her hands as she thought over the terrible events of the past few years. She always trusted Dumbledore, but she had truly believed, deep in her heart, that Voldemort couldn't have survived that night in Godric's Hollow. At least, that's what she believed until the night that Harry Potter saw him reborn in a bloody cemetery. The casual murder of that poor Diggory boy had been only the first taste of the pain, suffering, treachery and death that Voldemort's return ignited. 

It had been terrible and she did her best not to dwell on it. She was needed here and now.

Both sides had lost their leaders. While Dumbledore's death had been demoralizing, Voldemort's true death had caused the weight of the wizarding world to fall on those Death Eaters who had arrogantly revealed themselves in the Battle of Hogwarts. Those who hadn't been left unconscious or dead in their defeat before the full force of Dumbledore's Army had mostly fled into hiding. But a few of Voldemort's more ardent and unstable supporters waged their own war of revenge against muggle and wizard alike.

While Minerva had willingly assumed the mantle of control over the Order of the Phoenix, she was really only in charge of the recovery efforts. Her heart had never truly been forged for battle and after watching so many of her students and friends brutally slain in the past few years she was more than happy to let someone else take charge of hunting down the last of the dark forces Voldemort had marshaled.

When she heard the knock on her door she raised her head, heaved a heavy sigh and called, "Come in, Severus."

The door to Dumbledore's, no, Minerva's office opened swiftly and was closed just as swiftly behind the flowing black robes of Severus Snape. Severus never did like open doors, Minerva mused. The Potions' dungeon must have made him feel very comfortable, surrounded by tons of wood and stone. No openings. No vulnerabilities.

"You wanted to see me, Minerva?" Snape drawled.

"Yes, Severus, I wanted to know what progress has been made in subduing the remaining Death Eaters. I understand that this is a truly monumental task that has been placed on your shoulders, and I do appreciate how you and your team have been able to prevent any further deaths, but I had rather hoped we would have seen a light at the end of this tunnel by now."

"You want to know when we will be done fighting?" Snape said, with the mocking sarcasm that was as close as he came to laughter.

"Well, yes, Severus. I want to know when we will have finally and actually won and I don't think that's a notion worth sneering at!" Minerva rushed, flustered by the contempt displayed by the former double agent and her second-in-command in the Order.

"I am afraid, Minerva, that we may never _actually_ win. While there are only a limited number of Death Eaters remaining, they have at their disposal a large force of some of the darkest creatures in existence. Giants, manticorae, dragons, banshees, inferi. We are barely managing to hold them off. And I've gotten a report from Potter that there may be something new."

"Something new? What else could there be?"

"The dementors seem to have, if I understand Potter correctly, removed their cloaks."

Minerva was stunned momentarily into silence. "What does that even mean, Severus?"

"I'm not sure, Minerva, but I intend to find out. Will that be all?"

"Yes, Severus, thank you. I don't mean to be rude, but I just wish so badly for this all to end."

"I wouldn't say things I didn't truly desire, Minerva. You aren't the first head of the Order to make that wish in my presence."


	2. Ambush, Almost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning to the Order's Headquarters, Harry is surprised by a noise from the shadows.

Harry Potter had never fully expected to reach his 20th birthday alive. As a child on Privet Drive, the concept of living with the Dursleys for 20 (or at least 18) years was beyond comprehension. Just making it through the day was sometimes more than he could manage.

When he found out that he was a wizard and would be able to escape the Dursleys almost immediately, he had been too overwhelmed by joy to think of the future. And before the year was over, Harry had fought the most powerful Dark Wizard alive, possibly of all time, who, it turns out, was obsessed with murdering him.

So today was, if not quite a happy day, at least a triumphant one.

As Harry made his way to headquarters, winding through alleyways and in between stores and abandoned warehouses, he let his mind wander. His mind went straight to the Forbidden Forest, as it always did. Harry still didn't really understand what had happened that night. He had seen and spoken to his dead parents for the first time. He had seen Sirius. Dumbledore's Army had killed Voldemort and routed his forces. 

And of course, Harry had died.

Nobody in the world knew what happened that night, because Harry had told no one. Everyone thought that Voldemort's Avada Kedavra hadn't killed Harry. There were many theories about how he'd survived. Most people thought the protection his Mother's sacrifice had given him held once more. Some people thought that Voldemort's soul, split into eight pieces, wasn't strong enough to fully cast the killing curse. Hermione believed that Voldemort's wand had refused to kill Harry.

Nobody could even conceive that Voldemort had killed Harry, because here he was, obviously alive and no one has ever been able to raise the dead. Whenever discussion turned to how he survived, Harry held his silence and pledged to himself that as soon as he could manage, he would tell everyone the truth. But he couldn't. Not now.

Caught up in his thoughts, Harry's heart stopped briefly when he heard the crinkle of paper underfoot coming from the shadows. He instinctively dropped, cast a silent Protego and reached for a packet of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, while aiming his wand toward the noise.

"When's he going to get here? He was supposed to be back ages ago."

"Is that complaining I hear, Ronald Weasley?"

"It's not! But what if we've missed him and he's already back?"

"The portkey is still right there, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, but what if he's come another way?"

"He won't, Ron."

"But what if he has? Or what if he's wearing his-"

Harry threw a blinding Lumos toward Ron and Hermione, stood up and took off his Invisibility Cloak. He had heard enough to know this had to be Ron and Hermione. No Imperius curse or Polyjuiced Death Eater would be able to so perfectly imitate the loving irritation that his friends always fell into whenever they thought no one was listening.

"What are you two doing here?" Harry demanded. 

"Blimey, Harry, you scared me half to death!" Ron managed, catching his breath and holding his hand to his chest.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Harry asked again, annoyed by his friends' carelessness and, to be honest, his own.

"Well, Harry, Ron and I were going to be here when you got back and we were going to yell 'Surprise' and you were going to be thrilled that we'd thrown you an amazing surprise birthday party, but I don't quite think that will work out now."

"What if it hadn't been me who came back, Hermione? You and Ron took a giant risk, and a bloody party's not worth that."

"Bollocks, mate. Now let's get going, you're late," Ron grinned, brushed himself off and dragged Harry and Hermione to the portkey, an artistically shattered beer bottle. "They're all waiting for you."

"You're never to do this again, either of you," Harry admonished.

"Fine, Harry, we won't. Now, can we go? Ginny's made you a present you won't believe."

Harry smiled for the first time all week, thrilled by his friends' efforts despite himself. He threw his hands over their shoulders, and laughed. "Well alright then, get on with it!"

As he felt the familiar tug of the portkey right behind his belly-button, Harry decided not to think about what he had seen on his mission and to enjoy the night, his friends, and his successful completion of twenty years, almost entirely alive.


	3. The Severus Potion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snape checks on the next batch of his life-saving potion before getting Harry's report on the new threat from the dementors.

Severus Snape once agained checked his handwritten notes on the as-yet-unnamed potion that he had been developing for years. Based on a set of healing potions that had been commonly used in the war with Grindelwald and were standard issue for all aurors (indeed, they were absolutely required to pass the Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWTS), Snape had been theorizing for years and working in earnest since the reappearance of his old master, Lord Voldemort.

The base potion, Stasium Totalum (commonly referred to as the Pause Potion), was carried by all wizards authorized by the ministry to duel, and everyone else who thought they might be dueling regardless of authorization. It was a potion of last resort and, once used, completely removed the wizard from combat. It induced a near-death state, halting not only most life-providing functions (breathing, bloodflow, metabolism) but also nearly all life-ending functions (de-oxygenated blood, loss of blood, brain-death). Snape mentioned this potion briefly in his introductory speech to every class of first-years, knowing that only rarely would there be a student in the class who would ever be capable of making it.

But Snape had known as soon as he had first understood the theory behind the potion while studying it in his sixth year that the potion was nothing more than what he called it: a stopper on death. There was no healing power in the potion, and after the potion's effects wore off in a few hours, whatever had been killing you when you took the potion would proceed to do so. While it was an incredibly useful tool when fighting in a group or with friends, Snape had never had friends and wasn't particularly interested on relying on his allies. So, he set about thinking about what his own personal last-resort potion ought to be.

His most important innovations had been to add a restorative element to the Stasium. If Snape were to be mortally wounded, he wanted not to delay his death by a few hours of coma, but instead to return to life. He incorporated the effects of the Clota Advanceunt, the Sanguis Redempturus, and the Cutaneum Inserum to stop blood loss, replace lost blood and begin to regrow whatever organs or skin had been injured to begin with. After significant experimentation, Snape's potion was far more reliable than a compatriot and almost as effective as an emergency trip to St. Mungo's.

Unfortunately, even this form of the potion had not been ready for the Battle of Hogwarts, except for the single experimental vial that he was forced to consume after his evisceration by Lord Voldemort and his pet snake. He was so unsure of the effects of his potion that he had revealed to Potter all of the secrets that he swore he would carry to his death with the hope they would lead to the Dark Lord's defeat. Obviously his efforts had been more successful than he had expected and when he awoke many hours later, he was pleased, surprised and somewhat nonplused that Potter now knew his innermost secrets.

Every member of the Order of the Phoenix now carried Severus' Potion, which was one of the main reasons they had been so effective at halting the movements of the remaining Death Eaters. However, Snape had never even considered modifying the potion to account for the effects of dementors. There wasn't even any theory on how to protect one's soul via potion. And so the only defense that remained effective against dementors was a full patronus. And now it turned out the dementors had been holding back, showing restraint.

The next batch of Severus' Potion was proceeding exactly as the previous batch, and should be ready for bottling within the week. Satisfied with the state of his potions, he proceeded to headquarters to get Potter's full report.


	4. Feeding at Azkaban

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry tells Snape about his recent encounter at Azkaban with an unusually strong and aggressive dementor.

Harry had never felt comfortable around Severus Snape. This was probably because Snape hated Harry. And while Snape's anger and resentment hadn't gone away, Harry knew that their relationship had mellowed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Not only had they each had a perspective-shifting run-in with death, but Snape had given Harry access to his most closely-held secret: his all-consuming need for Lily Evans. 

Both wizards had maintained an icy professionalism over the months and years of their work in the Order of the Phoenix. Harry had never felt the need to get closer to Snape, and Snape had never presented him with an opportunity anyway. Their work had never been impeded by the lack of familiarity and no one else in the Order had seen the need to intervene. The only downside was that whenever the two of them had private meetings, Harry felt a pressure in the back of his head and a gnawing sense of anxiety.

This meeting was no exception.

Harry had known Snape would call on him immediately after receiving his report on the dementor's new clothes, or lack thereof. The entire Order would have to be told and Snape would need a full understanding before he was able to do so. He did wish he hadn't been forced to leave his birthday party so soon. At least he had gotten to have some of the entirely non-magical cake that Ginny had baked for him.

"Potter."

Harry stood as Snape entered the briefing room. Following protocol was the easiest way Harry had found to interact with Snape, and so he decided to model his behavior on some of the army movies Dudley had let him watch (in order to try out some of the combat moves on him). 

"Sir."

"I understand you have encountered some unusual dementor behavior. I need to know everything."

"Of course, sir. I was at Azkaban teaching the guards how to maintain a proper magical detention center without dementors when a group of them suddenly appeared. The guards said they'd been coming with some frequency over the past months, like birds returning to their nests.

"We prepared a few squads, each with at least one wizard capable of producing a full patronus, and made sweeps of the prison with two goals: to drive the dementors off, and to find out why they'd been returning. I let the guards stay on the top level to defend the air and led a small group myself to the dungeons.

"As we descended I started to hear some prisoners crying out and headed that way. We kept heading down and eventually I started feeling the preliminary effects of a dementor. I summoned my Patronus and ordered everyone else to prepare themselves to summon whatever level of patronus they could and advanced.

"It wasn't until we had found the dementors that I noticed the prisoners' cries had fallen silent. The first dementor we found made it very clear why. It was the first time I've seen a dementor take a soul. I was so shaken I didn't even realize what was happening until after. 

"I sent in my stag and gave the order to the others. The stag lowered its horns and charged and the dementor, umm, stayed. It was bizarre. The dementor rose up and sort of, caught the antlers of my patronus. They struggled and I could feel it affecting me, which hasn't happened since the dementors were at Hogwarts. I refocused on the dementor and understood why it had looked so strange.

"It didn't have on a cloak.

"Together with the rest of my squad we managed to surround the dementor before my stag started goring it. We got rid of it and then I sent you the message. That's what happened. I have a few thoughts, if I may, sir."

"Yes, Potter, please, share your no doubt brilliant insights with me."

"Sir, it's obvious the dementors are getting stronger. They've been attacking Azkaban. One resisted a full patronus. I think it's because they've been feeding. All of the prisoners I checked on the way back up had been kissed."

"Well done, Potter. You've managed to state the obvious and once again demonstrate your ignorance with a truly remarkable sense of pride. Of course, you were not alive when the dementors were last free creatures, and you've never been one for understanding the enemy. 

"The dementors were not born with cloaks. They are a tool used by the Ministry to aid in their subjugation. Shedding their clothing most likely caused their increased strength and boldness. While the suffering of our criminals is unfortunate, souls are a delicacy to dementors, not a source of power."

Snape, absorbed by his own speech, had not noticed that the room had suddenly chilled and the candles had dimmed. Harry's wand was out when the room went dark, and Snape's followed almost immediately. They heard a deep, rattling breath and entered into their own private nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how long this one will end up being. Thanks for reading, comments always appreciated.


End file.
